When it comes to LEADERSHIP, the challenge to grow often falls into 4 common areas where there is a resistance to change and grow and it’s exemplified through: The Pitty Party, Fear, Lack of Vision and Immaturity.
- The Pitty Party:
This is a victim mentality that when responsibilities are given there is a need to interpret the responsibilities as more than one can handle, as an excuse for not taking charge or the reason for not following through responsibly. This is not an issue of legitimately having “full plate.” It is a question about lives with an over-abundance of unproductive busyness, random tasks, and self-gratifying agendas. Pitty is always a self-centered point of view and it looks for others to feel sorry for them. It runs from any form of obligation unless they chose it. This attention to self actually serves as a distraction to the REAL issue which is avoiding the call to RESPONSIBILITY. This victim mentality is a mindset of the soul and is tied to a spirit of oppression cultivated by insecurity, low self-esteem, and fear. This mindset needs to be confronted in the spirit through prayer otherwise your spiritual adversary will always use this cowardly approach to cause you to resist God’s call to leadership.
- Fear and the Fear of Failure:
Fear is most definitely a spirit and not of God. It grips us immobilizes us and cause us to become frightened about things that don’t exist and therefore, preventing us from taking charge in the order and manner we are clearly able to do. The fear of failure has the same agenda however, it is focused upon the shame of ridicule that is likely triggered by low self-esteem. The fear of failure has an assignment to keep us from achieving our full potential. Fears of all kind must be addressed in the spirit and overcome through truth and confrontation, which is doing the very thing you feel hindered by. If fear is not fought in this way it WILL destroy our lives personally, spiritually and even physically. The spirit of fear will always resist God’s call to leadership not as a choice but as a condition of bondage, helplessness and spiritual oppression and one may need a ministry of deliverance before they are able to grow and ultimately lead others.
- Lack of Personal Vision:
Vision is at the heart of any call to leadership. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Too often people will follow a vision for the wrong reasons or step out leading with the wrong motivations. These motivations consist of obtaining the opportunity for recognition, title, money, prestige, power, control etc. On the other hand, people will follow a vision simply for the pride of winning. People like being a part of a winning team. The tragedy in all of this is that when superficial intentions fade away there remains no PURPOSE. When a person lacks purpose they lack VISION. Think about it, every historic social movement was fueled by a VISION. This is why people were able to live, fight, sacrifice and die for their vision. Jesus demonstrated this in the most profound way. God’s call to leadership requires vision first and foremost otherwise this person is useless or a hindrance to a cause. What we believe says a lot about what we will accomplish in life. The things we do accomplish will be because there was a clear vision whether that vision was inspired by God or of our flesh.
- Personal Immaturity & Irresponsibility:
Immaturity is actually the foundation block to any potential leader, the problem only arises when we are not wanting to acknowledge our immaturity or grow. The road to leadership begins with understanding what we do not know and desiring to learn so we may be transformed. God’s call to leadership is to those who lack the wisdom that constitutes maturity. So, when we acknowledge the areas where we lack, this awareness is the first sign of maturity. God’s call to leadership is to acknowledge our weakness and allow our lives to be disciplined in order to be perfected.
When we are immature we will make irresponsible decisions and do irresponsible things. Most of this happens because we have not sought out proper counsel (teaching) in order to lead more effectively. Immaturity breeds irresponsibility and can cause a self-sabotaging affect upon our lives. Some signs of immaturity are rebellion/stubbornness, a false sense of pride, unteachable, resist leadership, selfishness, lack of concern for others, scapegoating, blaming, anger fits/tantrums, judgmentalism, actively disrespects rules etc. Some signs of irresponsibility are being undependable, lacking follow through, lacks forward thinking, lack of planning, undisciplined, unable to protect what they have been given, lacks appropriate communication, leaves people hanging, disloyal, cannot be trusted etc.
So, now my question for you is to personally determine among these four categories what most applies to you. Then talk to the Holy Spirit about it. He is there to comfort, counsel, and guide you into ALL truth. What safer place to expose yourself in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. This is an acceptable offering of worship unto God.
Karen Gaithers-Life Discipleship 